2013.04.14 The Grampians: MacKenzie Falls

On the third and final day of the trip to the Grampians we started the standard morning procedure.  We woke up at 8 am for breakfast, eating the food on uneasy stomachs before climbing onto the bus for the day's hike.  The itinerary for the day was to visit MacKenzie falls, a large waterfalls in a river and rapids system within the Grampians.  We were to spend a considerable amount of time at the falls before heading to a cultural center, and finally departing back to Melbourne.

After breakfast we got on the bus, started the windy mountain roads along the mountain ridges to a parking lot near the falls.  First we stopped at a nearby platform, overlooking the park again.

This was one of my favorite views, but after seeing so many we were off on the walk down to the falls soon enough.

This time it was a steep climb down a set of steps cut out of the rock face.  Once we were at the bottom the view and the rapids were awesome.

Some students went into the water and swam under the waterfall.  For me, after having done that at Millaa Millaa falls in Cairns it was too cold, and I sat and enjoyed my lunch instead while chilling with other students.

Tom and I found a slightly worn track that lead up the side of a mountain that is probably not meant to be hiked.  And when I say slightly worn, I mean you could tell that some people had hiked up this way, but barely.  We were grabbing onto branches that were protruding out of the mountain at 45 degree angles just to climb up.  It was a fun climb and took about 30 or 45 minutes to get up, but headed back down pretty soon since nobody else knew where we were.

After getting back down we headed back up the steps to the top of the falls to head to the cultural center.  At the top I grabbed this neat picture.

Don't let that bird trick you, it's not the most friendly.  It behaves pretty similarly to seagulls at the beach, grabbing food out of your hands.  During lunch, as Tom was eating his sandwich it swooped down and took the entire thing out of his hands.

By 3 pm we were back on the bus heading to the cultural center.  I didn't take any pictures at the cultural center to show you, but it was pretty neat.  It had exhibits explaining the migration of aborigines throughout history, their hunting and survival methods, etc.  It was definitely worth a visit, but after a while most of us were napping on the benches or relaxing.  Soon enough it was time for the 2-3 hour drive home, stopping for food on the way.

Once finally back in Melbourne that night, I finally got a full nights sleep for the first time in days.